


when the sun sets on the other side

by tsuyori



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Heavy narration, I'm really sorry, I'm sorry if this did not turn out how you wanted it to be, It's kinda rushed, M/M, Oh how I love writing Haru snuggling up into Rin's arms, Romance, There's a lot of Sydney, kinda angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsuyori/pseuds/tsuyori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was time, enough was enough. So Haru packed his bags and took a trip to find Rin after all these years. Maybe, just maybe, Haru would be able to fix this mess they were in years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when the sun sets on the other side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [daddykink (halogenharry)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/halogenharry/gifts).



> Hello! First of all, Merry Christmas everyone! Second of all, I would like to apologize to the person who gave me this prompt because I think that I did not do this prompt justice. It may have turned out slightly different on how you might want it to be but I tried my best to write it. I took another route for this fic than the initial idea of mine. I think you would like more interaction between Haru and Rin, but because of how I set on writing this, it may disappoint you. I’m sorry! I may had rushed this due to time restriction because my finals ended and suddenly I had a pile of things to do so I did not attempt to write until like, probably 5 days ago. I don’t want to drop it because I feel bad for whoever who prompted this. So I tried. There might be a revamp version of this fic in future time, after I sort everything out. Warning: This fic is unbeta as it is currently some hour in the morning and I have not sleep the whole night trying to finish this up. I will update the fic when my lovely beta gone through it. So please bear with the shitty grammar and probably broken sentences. I sincerely apologize.

‘It’s going to be okay.’

That was what Haru had thought initially, that everything was going to be okay and eventually, things would be back to normal. Just like every time it happen. But this time, this time was going to be different. He knew the truth better than anyone else. The truth was simple; nothing was ever going to be the same again. 

He thought that maybe it was due to their stubbornness, or simply because of their clashing personalities. Or was it their lack of communication? - where Haru or Rin could go on days without texting or calling each others. 

Or maybe it was because both of them had just stopped trying to make the relationship work.

Haru probably spent the last few years of his life trying to figure out what had went wrong, but no amounts of ‘maybe’ could answer his question. 

But in reality. there was no question. Haru knew it from the beginning why it had turned out this way. What caused it, what started it and what had went wrong. Haru was running away from the reality - he has been running ever since that night. He refused to face it, just like a coward. Maybe because it hurts, but Haru snickered at that thought. What could hurt him more than this? Maybe he doesn’t want it to end yet, or maybe simply he just couldn’t accept that it had happened. 

“Reality was such a bitch,” Haru muttered to the empty walls in his house.

\- -  
‘We are over Haru. Goodbye.’

That was what Rin had said to Haru the last time they met. He was such a bad liar though, Haru had thought to himself. 

The last letter sits on top of his coffee table, that neat penmanship that seems to mock him harshly as a greeting whenever he enter his house. He hasn’t open that in months, maybe in years, but he knows the content enough by heart that he doesn't have to, can hear them all said in his head whenever he's far too alone in the night trying not to remember.

He wishes this didn't have to be the last thing that they had ended up saying to each other, that there wouldn't have to be last words at all. The gaping hole is still there, after all. He hasn't been able to smell the sea that he loves without remembering that flash of red hair and the messy way it used to tangle in the wind.

He thought time would heal him, heal this gaping hole in his heart. But that was a lie, time had failed to heal him, in fact, it make it worse. Everywhere Haru go will always reminds him of Rin, of all the things that they have done, of all the time they had spent together since childhood. It stings all the time, it felt like someone had decided to rub salt all over his open wounds every time he remembers something.

Makoto had suggested if Haru would like to move in with him at his place in Tokyo, where Makoto currently reside to study. Haru had gave it a thought, thinking that maybe moving to a new place, with a different environment would be nice. A fresh start perhaps. But the more time he spend thinking about, the more he refused to leave. Maybe he’s slowly turning into a masochist, but Haru was unable to leave this place even though everything hurts. 

Haru doesn’t want to leave, because he was afraid that once he leave, everything will be over. For real. There was no turning back. He was scared of changing, he was scared that he would forget everything in this quaint little town that he grew up in, about himself, about Rin and everyone else. 

But this time, Haru had decided that it was time. Time for him to stop running away, so he packed his bags, and left.

\- -

Haru has been at the airport before, more than he would like to, when Rin had decided to take an impromptu trip with him to Australia when Haru hit a hard turn in life. There was also the time when Rin had booked a surprise trip for Haru’s 21st birthday. Or the time where the whole gang got together and decided to go for a holiday as a get together. 

There was an amount of fond memories Haru had about this particular airport. As he checked in, he sat at the exact seat where he and Rin sat the first time they were in this lounge. He remembered Rin’s face when he was here, beside him, grinning at him like he always does. He remembered their brisk conversation about how all of this was a bad idea, how Rin had shushed him by kissing him, took Haru off guard. They sat in the far corner so no one noticed Haru’s red blushing face after that secret exchange. 

Haru smiled sadly to himself, remembering all of those memories. That was such a good times, even though Haru refused to go. But thanks to Rin, they took the trip and Haru found himself. He owed Rin so much for that. Sometimes he wondered how would he end up if Rin hadn’t thought to drag him to Australia? 

“Attention to all passengers for flight QF421, the schedule 9 A.M. flight to Sydney, from gate lounge number seven. Please make your way to the boarding area.”

Haru shrugged off the feeling and make his way to the departure gate. He showed the guard his passport and his flight ticket and boarded the plane. He sat down on his seat and looked out the window, staring into the horizon with the sun rising in the distance.

It was going to be a long flight.

\- -

‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have landed in Sydney safe and sound. It’s currently 6:43 P.M. and it’s a beautiful evening in Sydney. Thank you for flying with us and have a good day.’

It was evening when Haru landed in Sydney. He strolled along the pathway, slowly making his way to the baggage area, grabbed his luggage and walk to the immigration counter.

“What’s your purpose of visit?” The immigration officer asked as he reviewed through Haru’s passport.

“Holiday sir,” was Haru simple reply.

The officer double checked his passport and stamped it. That would be the seventh Australia stamp, Haru counted. But this time it feels a little bit different.

It might because Haru was alone this time. He had never thought that traveling alone was such a soothing experience, most probably because he had a good sleep on the plane and some quiet time to his own. He came here without notifying anyone, not even Makoto or his neighbours. He just booked his flight and accommodation, packed his bags and left. Maybe he should give Makoto a text, just in case anything happens. 

But this time, Haru came to Australia with a purpose. He came bringing all his determination and confidence from home, to clear everything up. It was now or never. He had decided, that despite the outcome of what he was planning to do, at least he had done it, he had tried to fix this than leaving it alone and live with regrets. 

So he walked out of the airport, fetched a taxi and made his way to his hotel. He grabbed some packed dinner at the convenient store beside his hotel before checking in and settle for the night. 

Everything is going to change tomorrow, at least that was what Haru had hoped.

\- -

Haru knew where Rin was staying in Sydney. After all he had been there and even stayed over for a few nights. So when Haru woke up this morning, he decided not to go there yet. Not because he was not ready but because he wants to see more of Sydney itself. See what Sydney had to offer to him, with his own eyes. Most of the times it was Rin that had planned all the plans whenever they were in Sydney. From places to see and places to eat, Rin planned most of it. But this time, Haru wants to experience Sydney itself on his own. 

He wants to see what Rin sees in Sydney.

Haru took a quick shower and headed downstairs to the hotel lobby. As he walked towards the entrance, he simply pulled some tourists’ brochures that the hotel has conveniently placed near the reception and head out. 

The first place Haru visited was the Sydney Opera House, one of the most iconic landmark in Sydney. They told him that everyone needs to come to Sydney and see it once. Haru had saw it, multiple times at least. But as predicted, Haru felt different than the last few times he was here with Rin. 

He fondly remembers that Rin had dragged him around the area, pointing to him the different locations that was viewable from the harbour. Haru do not understands what was the fascination about this building. Some people said it was the innovative architecture that combines various aspects of creativity. But at this moment, as Haru looked up to the building for probably the third or fourth time, he still did not get the fascination about it. 

But Haru realized that he should stop trying to understand the fascination about the building and instead he should focus on enjoying his surroundings. The sound of slow moving water, the gentle wind that caressed his face, the occasional horns from the ships, the chattering of various people conversing and the chirpings of the seagulls. 

After that Haru had visited a few more places, like the Sydney Botanical Gardens where he and Rin had to run to look for a shelter because it started raining all of a sudden when they were there the last time. Haru sat there at the very same shelter, breathing in the same fresh air and the smell of various flowers, reminiscing the time where him and Rin had a good laugh at this shelter because they were saoked.

He also took a trip down to the Paddington Markets in the evening, where he and Rin used to shop here every evening buying groceries and dinner. He stopped by the stall that sells amazing cupcakes for a very good price that Rin loves a lot. Haru also picked up some tidbits and snacks from a few vendor that he remembers. As he picked up the last thing he wanted from another stall, the vendor beside the stall suddenly spoke.

“Hey! Aren’t you that young man that use to come here with Rin?”

Haru turned and looked at him, a man somewhere in his forties with a grey beanie on that was selling souvenirs beside the bread stall that Haru just bought from. Haru blinked at him for a few seconds, in pure confusion before he speak.

“You know Rin?”

The older man laughs out loud, like how you would imagine a santa claus would laugh in real life. “Of course I do! He comes here almost every day to pick up some random bits and pieces. He always stopped by here to say hi to me. Speaking of which, why are you not with him today? I’m pretty sure he told me you don’t live here so you only come to visit whenever you are free.”

Well this was unexpected. Haru never thought someone would recognizes him, especially not in a market in another country. Felt the rumbling noises in his stomach, Haru chose not to press on any further about Rin. He wanted to ask the man about Rin’s life here. But today might not be a good day. 

Haru smiled at him and said, “Yeah I’m alone today. Rin’s busy so yeah.”

It didn’t feel right to lie to a stranger about their current status but Haru thought it would be better this way. After all, Rin does not know he was here, in Sydney. So he bid the man goodbye and make his way back to his hotel.

\- -

For the next few days, Haru went everywhere. He explored all the places that he had went with Rin before. He even ventured into places he had never seen before. At one point he even asked the hotel staff on where else he could visit that was not commonly visit by tourists. The hotel staff gave him some nice suggestions. 

He went to the zoo and visited some Australian wildlife. He also went to the Blue Mountains by himself. He climbed it and sat there alone for a few hours, just enjoying the scenery. At one night, he went to the Sydney Tower to get a full view on the whole city. It was beautiful. Haru wished he could print it out from his memories and stuck it somewhere in his house. 

Today Haru has no plans. He actually ran out of places to visit. Just as Haru tried to approach another receptionist to ask for more suggestions, there was a poster that hung at the billboard that caught his eye. 

‘Shark Island - open for public visiting! Check the dates below.’

Shark Island, what a funny name for an island. Haru had heard of this place before from Rin. It was usually closed off for events and functions use. He checked the date on his phone and the dates on the poster. 

‘So today it’s open for public use huh? I might as well go and see how it looks like. Not like I had anything planned anyway,’ Haru thought to himself. So he got himself a taxi and headed there as soon as he grabbed some breakfast from the cafe right across the street from the hotel. 

Haru got on the ferry just in time as he reached the port. As he boarded the ferry, he saw a flashes of red. His heart skipped a beat. He quickly rubbed his eyes and scanned the surroundings. There was no red in sight. 

‘Maybe it was just my imagination,’ Haru thought. 

There was more people than Haru had expected. As soon as he got down from the ferry, Haru started to wander around. He slowly wandered into a part of beach that has less and less people. Maybe because it was not facing the Sydney Harbour. But Haru liked the slightly quiet atmosphere with nothing but the gentle sound of waves. He found a shady spot under a big tree and sat down. He brought out the book that he had packed into his backpack and started reading. 

‘This is kinda nice.’

Haru kept reading the book, without realizing the time. Just as the sun started to set, he had to rush to the port for the last ferry back to the mainland. Haru stood by the outer area of the ferry, watching the sun setting slowly in the horizon. When the ferry finally reached the other side, that was when he saw him.

When he saw Rin from across the ferry, Haru’s heart skipped a beat. Rin had obviously not noticed him yet. But Haru saw him, he finally saw Rin after all these years. He still look the same, like he never change. His messy red hair were all tucked underneath his favourite beanie, he was wearing the same red plaid shirt that Haru said it look good on him (and Haru like it whenever Rin wears it) and a pair of his regular jeans. Rin looked exactly like how Haru had remembered him. 

He did not know what to do. Should Haru approached him? Or should he wait until Rin noticed him? Or just do nothing at all and walk away? Haru shrugged at the third option, because it would make this trip pointless. So he brave up and walked towards him. Rin’s back was facing him so Haru stopped right in front of him. He took a breath and said, “Rin.”

Rin turned around. Haru finally had the chance to look into his eyes again. It has been too long, too long ever since they stand this close to each other. Haru had to resist the urge to just grab Rin by the collar and plant his mouth on his. But then he had to remember his original purpose and also the fact that they were in public.

“Haru? What the hell are you doing here?” Rin asked.

“I…,” Haru started. “I came to find you.”

There was a sudden flashes of shock in Rin’s eyes, at the same time accompanied by a tint of sadness. 

‘Maybe this was a bad idea after all.’ Haru thought to himself, trying to formulate an escape plan or plan B. 

“Well..., you should have told me if you were coming,” Rin said as he scratched his head. “I would have come to fetch you and bring you around again. How long have you been here already?”

Haru counted the days in his head before answering, “Around 7 days already, if you count the day I arrived.”

“Shit man, you’ve been here 7 days and didn’t even attempt to contact me? What the actual shit Haru?”

Ah, this was where everything was going to go down, Haru thought. But before Rin had attempt to explode even further, Haru took Rin’s hand and dragged him down to the taxi area where Haru fetched a taxi. 

“Where are we going?!” Rin yelled over the noise of the traffics.

“My place.” 

\- -

The moment both of them entered Haru’s hotel room, Haru forcefully grabbed Rin’s collar and kissed him. Rin was shocked at the sudden intrusion but after a few seconds, he slowly gave in into the kiss. They probably stood there in the middle of the room, kissing each other for as long as their lungs permits them.

When they finally broke apart, both of them were trying to catch their breath but Haru spoke in-between his uneven breath. 

“I-I came to fix this,” Haru said. “I came all the way to fix this mess that we should have fix a long time ago but we didn’t, because we both ran away.”

Rin plopped down onto the bed in silent. He did not speak until his breath was back to normal. “I never thought you would come.” 

Haru sat down beside him. “I didn’t think I would come either, but it has been too long Rin. It’s time we need to fix this.” Haru shifted his body and Rin did the same too so now both of them were directly looking at each other. There was a sudden moment of silent where both of them just looked into each other’s eyes and observed each other’s faces. 

Haru broke the silence again. “I was depressed for a long time. For a long time I was lost, I don’t know what to do anymore with my life. Everyday I woke up, shower, go to school, go to training, come back home, make dinner, and sleep. It was on this cycle for so long.” 

“Then a week ago, I finally thought to myself, enough is enough. As long as we don’t fix this, I will never be able to move on from this sick cycle. It would just continues until I die, and I don’t want that so this time I decided to take the initiative to find you.”

“Haru, I-,” Rin started to speak.

“Wait Rin, let me finish. Yes, I was here since a week ago. I should have find you on the first day when I arrived but I chose not to because I want to see Sydney myself. I want to see it without you. I want to experience what Sydney had to offer me. So for the last week, I was going from places to places. I visited all the places you have brought me before, and I also visited places that I have never seen or heard before. This past week of adventuring alone gave me a lot of time to think. It gave me a lot of time to think what had went wrong exactly with us, with this relationship.” 

Haru combed through his hair with his fingers before continuing, “God damn it Rin, I love you so much it hurts. I have loved you ever since you entered my life god knows how many years ago. I have spent majority of my life with you and these last few years without you? It was hell. I was alone most of the time.” Haru paused for a few moments, just enough time for Rin to pull Haru into his embrace. “Makoto is in Tokyo, Nagisa and Rei are in another university in Kyoto. I had no one. I was alone.” 

Haru felt Rin’s gentle fingers patting through his head, just the way he used to do it back in the days where Haru would like down on Rin’s lap as he read a book and Rin would just randomly pat his head. 

“God damn it, I miss you too Haru. It was hard on me too. I don’t know what to do anymore Haru. I thought that maybe ending this relationship was better for both of us. But after I left you that letter that night and said those words to you, I cried. I cried for days,” Rin said. “At that point, I realized it was hard on us. Our relationship was not going how it should be going. You were not happy, I was not happy. There was just a lot of sad moments. I know you couldn’t do it so I took the initiative to end it, because I thought it will be better for both of us. But apparently I was wrong. I was just running away.” Rin let out a small laugh that was coated with pain.

“The more I stayed in that town, the more it hurts. So I decided to ring up my old coach and asked him whether he would accept me back if I return to Sydney. He was thrilled about it. So I did all the necessary paperworks and left. I thought I would get a fresh start here, but when I landed, I was filled with all sorts of memories I had with you here. It stings, but I’ve decided to move on to a fresh start so I continue on. And ever since then, I have been here.”

Haru snuggled deeper into Rin’s embrace. “Have you not thought of contacting me?”

“I did tried, but every time I picked up my phone to dial your number, I just couldn’t do it. I keep picturing that you already at a happier place without me. Why would I want to ruin it?” Rin explained. 

“You’re still an idiot, even after all these years.” 

“Hey! That’s rude Haru.”

Haru smiled. He had finally genuinely smiled for once after so long. Slowly it transition into a laugh and by then Rin has joined in too. “We are both stupid aren’t we?” Rin asked. “If we both had sat down and talked about it, we won’t be having this situation now.”

Haru shook his head. “I believe it happens for a reason. As much as these last few years had been dark, but it had helped me grow, it had taught me a lot of things in life. So maybe in a way I don’t regret it at all.”

Rin smiled gently at him, like he always does. “Maybe you are right.” 

Haru grabbed Rin’s face and set it straight so Rin was currently looking straight into his eyes. “Look Rin, from now on, no matter what is going to happen, I want you to promise me that we will always try to talk it out. No more attempting anything stupid like this. No more break ups. No more impromptu trip to somewhere. For better or worse, I want us to promise each other that regardless of anything, we will talk. We will talk it out and fix it. Do you promise me?”

Rin suddenly burst into a big laughter and nodded his head. “Yes I promise you, with all my heart.” Just as he said that, Haru pushed Rin down to the bed and kissed him again. This time it was real. They finally found themselves again and this time hopefully, fingers crossed, that it will last forever.

fin.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're confuse at the reason why they broke up, it was suppose not to have a reason. There was no reason why they broke up like for example, did one of them cheated. No. This was inspired by a tumblr post that I have saved a while ago. A relationship does not just build simply on the 'feeling of love'. Feelings and emotions changes as times goes by. A relationship will only work if both parties chose to make it work. From there, it would no longer be based on 'feelings of love'. It would be about trust and commitments. Basically Haru and Rin hit a hard turn in their relationship and both of them were confused. They were transitioning into another phase of life. So instead of choosing to commit to their relationship by talking it out and understanding it at that point of their life, both of them thought it would be easier if they just end it. So in a way, they both ran away from the problem instead of facing it.


End file.
